


Heart and Empire

by divisio



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Arranged Marriage, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Multi, POV Karkat Vantas, POV Second Person, Profanity, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-18
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-05-08 17:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14698953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/divisio/pseuds/divisio
Summary: Dave Strider is a human prince.  Kanaya Maryam is the ambassador for what remains of the trolls.  Desperate to keep the peace between their species, the humans and trolls arrange a marriage between Dave and Kanaya.  Before the wedding, they swap servants in honor of a tradition between trolls.





	1. Intro

 

 

>  
>
>>            "I don't want to do this."
>> 
>>            It's been fifteen minutes and he's still struggling with his cravat.
>> 
>>            "Just let me do it," you groan, reaching for his neckline.
>> 
>>            "Man, fuck the tie." He throws it down before you can touch it. "I mean this." He gestures vaguely. "All the dress-up bullshit, and... and marriage." He takes a seat on the edge of the bed. You sit beside him.
>> 
>>            "I thought you liked Kanaya." That sounded more bitter than you had intended it to. You hope Dave will just read it as more impatience for his shenanigans.
>> 
>>            "She's nice." He takes off his glasses and starts cleaning them absently. "I don't love her."
>> 
>>            "Well, no shit. You just met her."
>> 
>>            "I don't think I _could_ love her. She's not exactly my type." He pauses in his polishing and stares at nothing in particular, then mumbles, "And... I've been thinking about someone else."
>> 
>>            You say flatly, "Oh, yeah?"
>> 
>>            Dave looks you in the eyes. For the first time since you've met him, a third of his face is not obstructed by shades. The irises are a not-so-subtle hue of red, and you can kind of understand why he would be self-conscious. You won't admit out loud that you find them as attractive as any eye color. He holds your gaze longer than you expected, and you're trying not to appear visibly uncomfortable. Instead, you blink suspiciously. Dave slowly leans closer and causes your heart to speed up. You know where this is going, but you have no desire to stop it.
>> 
>>            He kisses you. You find yourself kissing him back until you are hit with a realization and you shove him away. He nearly falls off the bed.
>> 
>>            "Fuck," you pant. "I'm sorry."
>> 
>>            "No, don't be." He places his glasses back on his face, masking some amount of shame. "I'm sorry. That wasn't cool."
>> 
>>            You'd be lying if you said you didn't want him in the same way. But he's a prince, and you're the lowest a commoner can rank. And who the hell even knows what kind of trouble you'd both be in if anyone found out about this? And on the night before his wedding, too? Then there's Kanaya. She's your friend. You respect her. Even if Dave isn't her type, she still sees this wedding as necessary to the survival of both of your species, and you're not about to destroy all that.
>> 
>>            "Help me with the damn cravat," Dave sighs, retrieving it from the floor. You nod before fastening it properly. You linger longer than you should, conflicted.
>> 
>>            High-ranking trolls such as Kanaya have a tradition of swapping a close servant with that of their betrothed for a month before the ceremony. Dave, out of stubbornness, didn't exactly have a servant. His twin sister, Rose, helped him with anything he couldn't do himself. In honor of the trolls' tradition, you and Rose swapped places. You had met Rose briefly, and found her intimidating, but Kanaya could handle anything.
>> 
>>            Tomorrow Dave would be married and become King Strider. Kanaya would be seen as a queen, and you would go back to being a regular servant, a short memory in Dave's otherwise elegant life. But tonight is different, somehow. Tonight, he's just Dave.
>> 
>>            You can feel him watching you through his shades expectantly. This time, you initiate the kiss, and he does not resist.
>> 
>>            It's at that moment that the door opens.
>> 
>>            You stumble away from each other a moment too late. It's a human servant that you don't recognize. He is staring wide-eyed at the both of you, and then he quickly retreats.
>> 
>>            “Wait!” Dave is already sprinting after him. You're left standing there alone in shock, wondering if your execution will be a quick one.
> 
>  
> 
>  


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went ahead and posted this one on the same day because the introduction was pretty short. Enjoy!

           You are dropped unceremoniously outside the town walls with a pack of provisions. It's not quite enough to last three days, even if you're careful. Dave had apparently bargained for your life. In your opinion, execution may have been the more favorable option. The frozen wilderness is as good as a death sentence, anyway. There's dark magic and bloodthirsty creatures out here, all waiting to tear you limb-from-limb. Your only hope now is to get to a town you _haven't_ been banished from and pray they will have mercy on you. You don't even know where the nearest town would be, but you had better get moving before it gets dark. That's when the most nasty stuff comes out to play.

           Among your items, you find a very confusing map that is covered in a concerning amount of question marks, which indicate areas that have not been explored. It looks like the nearest village is too far away to walk to in one day. It would take at least a week by your calculations, and you're not optimistic about your odds of surviving that long. You take a moment to examine the sky and determine which way is north before heading in that direction.

           You're deep in the forest when the inevitable darkness takes over. You hope the trees will provide enough cover for you to rest safely for a while, perhaps try to warm yourself up. Lighting a fire is not an option, and your clothes were not designed for long periods of cold, but you were given a blanket. You wrap it around your body and park yourself near a tree that is _probably_ not poisonous. The blanket does not comfort you much against the hard, freezing ground.

           As you start to adjust to the darkness, you notice something among the bushes. Maybe it's your frightened mind playing tricks on you, but it sure looks like a pair of eyes, watching you. If they're real, the creature they belong to is big, like a large wolf or a bear, or... something else entirely. Some leaves rustle, confirming your suspicions. You hold your breath involuntarily and shut your eyes. At this point, it would be useless to try and run.

           Then comes the crunch of a paw in snow. A twig snaps from the direction of the beast. Your whole body tenses up, and you try to swallow, but your mouth is too dry. To your surprise, there are more crunchy footsteps, but they are further away this time. You open your eyes and start breathing again. Whatever was observing you is nowhere to be seen now. You sit quietly for a long time, in case it comes back. It doesn't, and you eventually find yourself drifting off.

-

           When you first wake up, you wonder if it had all been a nightmare. Your head is resting against something soft and warm, but when you focus your eyes, you can still see trees overhead. Out of your peripheral, you can just make out what it is you're lying against: a thick, white coat of fur. The creature it belongs to is most certainly alive and definitely deadly. Fortunately for you, it's also asleep.

           You keep your breathing as steady as possible. The last thing you want is for your accelerating heartbeat to alert this thing that its breakfast is awake and ready to play. Slowly, slowly, you begin to shift your weight off of it. The entire time, your eyes are focused on the face of a huge white tiger. Your efforts are in vain, however, as it lifts its head and locks eyes with you. You freeze up, once again finding yourself unable to breathe. It yawns, closes its eyes, and lies back down, pointedly disregarding your existence. You wait. When it remains still, you allow yourself to breathe again before creeping away. You carefully clutch your pack of supplies and back away. Once you're pretty sure the tiger won't hear it, you break into a sprint, stopping only when you know you're not being followed.

           And then you collapse, heaving. You're hungry, but you know that if you ate anything at this point, you would vomit. You have no idea where you are, and the foliage above is too dense to give you any sort of sky-based bearings.

           The best course of action, you decide, is to at least not dehydrate. You're digging through your pack for the waterskin when you feel an unfamiliar object. It's cold and hard, some kind of metal. You take it out for inspection. A small, sheathed dagger. On the hilt, it has inscriptions in a language you don't recognize, and it seems to reflect sunlight that isn't present in this area. It definitely was not in your backpack last night. You took a mental note of all of your supplies before setting off.

           Somebody, or something, has left you with a magical weapon and lots of questions.

-

 

           This day isn't much better than the first one. You're filthy, cold, lost, and terrified. You're not even sure if you're heading further into the forest or not. Does it even matter at this point? You're halfway through eating a bar of... something edible, you guess, when you hear it. The heavy thud of footsteps are getting closer and closer every second.

           You swallow the painfully unchewed portion of food and cram the remains of your snack back into your bag, hurrying to the bushes for cover. Your dagger is already unsheathed. Not that it would do you much good against such a monstrosity, but it's better than fists.

           This is not the same creature that you met this morning. It's bipedal, hulking, and furry, with massive horns and razor sharp claws. You get a good look at it as it slows a few meters from your hiding place and wish that you were anywhere but here.

           It stops and sniffs the air where you had been sitting moments ago. _Please go away._ Your prayer is met with indifference as the brute takes two large steps in your direction. You're covering your mouth, trying desperately to stay silent. It raises an arm, ready to strike you. You're sure you're a goner until a white blur darts between you and certain death. It's the same tiger from this morning, and you're pretty sure it's protecting you?

           The fight happens more quickly than you can process, but it ends with both creatures fleeing in the other direction, the tiger looking a little worse for the wear as it limps off. And then there's silence. You're too stunned to react immediately, but eventually you emerge from the bushes. It's hard not to notice the blood and paw prints leading off into the forest. It isn't a fatal amount of blood, but it's enough.

           “I'm going to regret this,” you sigh before following the trail. It leads you to a thick tree, and then just stops. You're inspecting the base of the tree when a drop of blood falls from above and narrowly misses you. The source is a human wearing a torn white (and now stained red) cloak. They are perched precariously on a branch, clutching their bleeding side. Their face is shrouded by the cloak's hood.

           “Hey!” you yell up. Startled, the figure pulls the hood tighter over its face. “Look, you're clearly hurt, and you're not about to get any better sitting in a tree, so why don't you just come down and let me help you.” Their response is to try and make themself smaller, hissing when they move too quickly and aggravate their wound. You roll your eyes and begin to climb the tree. They seem harmless – in human form, anyway. You're about 95% sure this was the tiger-turned-human.

           “No, don't!” You'd recognize that voice anywhere, even if he _is_ trying to disguise it.

           You pause, halfway up to him. “Strider?” An array of emotions floods through you, but the most prominent one is utter outrage. “Get your ass down here right now! What the fuck do you think you're doing here?”

           Dave lets his hood drop, defeated. He says, “Uh... bleeding?”

           “Wow. If you weren't already severely injured, I'd beat the shit out of you. Now _come down here_ so I can have a look at it!”

           “It's just a scratch,” he murmurs.

           “You're so full of shit. Come down here right now, you insufferable moron.”

           He starts climbing down and you drop down, grumbling about idiots almost getting themselves killed by goddamn minotaurs. At least Dave had enough sense to bring a first aid kit. You bandage him up as best you can, but he definitely needs better medical attention than what you can provide. He'll live, at least.

           While patching him up, you say, “So.”

           Dave feigns obliviousness. “So?”

           “So, what the fuck. What were you thinking? You could start a fucking _war_ with your stupidity. Or worse: you could get _murdered by a fucking monster_!”

           “Jesus. Couldn't you _try_ to be gentle while cleaning my open wounds?”

           He winces as you pull the bandages a little too tight. “NO! Answer the goddamn question!”

           “I was thinking it's my fault you're out here, and there's no way in hell I'm about to let you get killed because of my stupid mistakes.” He is looking elsewhere, trying to distract himself from the pain, or maybe from you. “You weren't supposed to see me. I just wanted to make sure you got somewhere safe.”

           You still want to punch him. “Go home.”

           “No.”

           “Dave!”

           “I'll be fine.”

           “No, you won't!” You inspect his bandages before tossing his shirt back at him. “You're supposed to be getting married right now!”

           “Rose is covering for me.”

           You blink at him, astounded. “You mean Rose is marrying Kanaya?”

           He actually smiles at that. “That would be incredible, but no, she's just stalling until I get back. She's kind of the best at it.”

           You cannot believe his stubbornness. “You were a fucking tiger.”

           “It's the cloak.” Dave looks disappointed at the huge gash running through the side, out to the edge. “I'll have to fix it up before it'll work again.” He produces a small box from somewhere inside the cloak. “Luckily, Aunt Roxy thought ahead.” He opens it up to reveal a set of needles and several spools of glowing white thread. Slumping against a tree, he begins to thread one of the needles. Then he points. “That way's north.”

           You cock an eyebrow. “So?”

           Dave looks up from his project. “So that's the way you wanna go.”

           “Are you insane? I'm not leaving you here in this condition!”

           “I'll catch up. I'm a fucking tiger.” He holds up a bit of the cloak to make a point.

           “Hell no. If you're going to insist on being my escort, I'm going to make sure you don't get yourself eviscerated in the process.”

           “I'm fine, Karkat.”

           “We stay. Together,” you growl.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to put out. I've been dealing with a lot of stuff lately. I will tentatively say that the next chapter will be the last one, but we'll have to see.  
> Also, I've stopped bothering trying to change the formatting. It's annoying to read it like this, but it's even more annoying trying to force my own indentations in. I hope you all don't mind.  
> Thanks a ton for reading; it means so much to me.  
> Comments give me life.

It's a quiet, awkward walk after Dave finishes patching up his cloak. Of course, things couldn't be _normal_ between the two of you. How could they be, after everything that's happened? Dave opts to remain in human form, but you wonder if the situation would be less tense if you were walking alongside a giant cat. He's definitely on edge, you notice. You catch him frequently side-eyeing you, tensing at every little forest noise. It's kind of driving you nuts, between his twitchiness and the painful silence. You fear that speaking your mind at this point might drive him off (although it never has before), and you're not ready to lose his company.

You try to imagine what your new home will be like. Even if you aren't the only one of your species, you've always had trouble fitting in, what with your colorful blood and even more colorful attitude. It will be a whole new experience, you suppose. Still, the thoughts of what will be new are drowned out by the thoughts of what you're leaving behind. You didn't really have a family, as trolls typically don't, but you had friends. Kanaya was one of your closest friends, and you will never see her again. At least with Dave, you'll have the chance to say goodbye.

“Let's stop here.” Dave's voice snaps you out of your thoughts. You realize the sun is already setting and your feet are aching. You nod in agreement and set your pack down. “You should eat,” he says, settling down in the shade.

“I'll eat when I feel like it,” you grumble. Your stomach chooses that moment to betray you by rumbling loudly. Dave is smirking as you let out an exasperated sigh and begin digging through your bag for food. You pause before taking your first bite so you can glare at him.

“Don't be a hypocrite. You eat, too.”

He looks like he's about to argue with you, but you guess he decides it's not worth it and pulls an apple out of his cloak. Dave takes a bite, and through a full mouth, asks, “Want some?” and offers it to you.

Your face contorts into an expression of utter disgust. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Dave wipes his mouth on his sleeve, barely suppressing yet another of his obnoxious smirks. “I have six more.”

“First of all, how the fuck are you carrying seven apples in that thing? Second, I don't know where those have been, and third, I am perfectly fine with this totally bland nutrition block that I've been provided.” You pointedly take a bite of the bar.

He shrugs and takes another loud chomp of the fruit. “Suit yourself.” But he didn't answer your question, which was probably intentional.

You actually wait until you've swallowed your mouthful, like a civilized person, before speaking again, “Aren't princes supposed to be, like, more refined?”

“Have you met me?” Dave asks, cocking an eyebrow. You can't really argue with that logic. Dave has been this way since you were first introduced. It drove you crazy then, and it drives you crazy now.

 

You begin setting up to rest as you had the night before. Dave is hesitating, watching you carefully.

“Do you wanna sleep with me?” he asks.

“What?”

He gets this shit-eating grin on his face and you want to punch him even before he says what he says next. “My hot tiger bod--”

“I'll freeze to death, thanks.” You promptly turn to face away from him.

“C'mon, Karks, I'm just joking.”

You feel real anger and hurt rising from your core now, as you snap, “You don't get to do that.” You've had enough years of practice to keep the angry tears from flowing, but your hands curl into fists as you turn abruptly to face him.

Dave looks taken aback. “I... what?”

“You don't get to joke around and flirt and call me 'Karks', like we're best friends, like we'll be hanging out again next week. This isn't a fucking game, Dave. I'm leaving, and you trying to be all disgusting and charming is only making this worse for both of us.”

His head is lowered slightly, his face actually flush with shame. “Yeah. I'm sorry.” His words are choked out and now you feel bad. He probably already felt guilty enough about this whole situation before you started throwing it in his face, and it's not even entirely his fault that you're here to begin with. You couldn't keep your hands (or mouth, you guess) to yourself. God dammit, you feel like an asshole now. “Good night,” Dave murmurs. He settles down a good distance away from you, curling up in his cloak. A snowy tiger takes shape where he had been lying.

You sigh and stumble over to him. He watches carefully as you slide down, pressing your head against the fur on his side. You know this is Dave, but you can't help but feel unnerved, being so close to a huge predator. It _is_ better than freezing to death, you suppose, but you'll keep that to yourself. He lets out a long breath and relaxes, allowing you to do the same. You find it easier to drift off now that you're less afraid, but there's a knot in your stomach that won't go away.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still haven't decided if this is the final chapter, but I really did enjoy writing it. I probably should have made it a one-off for how short the chapters are, but I like to break things up.  
> Thanks again for reading! Hope you enjoy!

Dave is the first to wake up. When you open your eyes, you find him making a fire nearby. He has left his cloak draped over you. You keep it wrapped around your shoulders as you get on your feet. The cloak is a lot lighter than you expected, but it is way too long for you, dragging behind you on the ground.

“Mornin',” Dave says, smiling undoubtedly at your shortness. You grunt sleepily and move closer to the fire. You had almost forgotten what real heat felt like.

“Why did you build a fire?” you ask. You squint up toward the sky, where the sun is already pretty high. How long did he let you sleep? “We should get moving.”

“Relax. You need to eat.”

You're too tired and hungry to argue with him, so you plop down and pull some food out of your bag. Dave is sitting nearby, poking at the fire absentmindedly with a stick. Out of your peripheral, you watch the reflection of the flames dance on his glasses. You can't really see his eyes, but you can tell he's deep in thought as he prods aimlessly at the embers. After you finish your snack, you offer his cloak back to him. He tosses the stick in the fire and gingerly accepts, draping it loosely over is shoulders.

“We could get you there faster if you let me give you a lift.” You can tell he's choosing his words carefully, making an effort not to upset you like he had the night before. “We could even take our time before we have to go.”

You scrutinize his face, searching for some ulterior motive or sign of irony. From what you can tell, he's being genuine. You have to be realistic though, since he won't be. As much as you'd love to spend more time with him, he's already in a shitload of trouble. Prolonging the inevitable will only make his problems worse. “You want to stay here?” you ask. Dave doesn't respond right away. You hoist your bag back over your shoulder. “That sounds like a huge waste of time.”

“Karkat--”

“We don't have time for your bullshit, Strider. You'll be lucky if the humans don't fillet you when you get back for all the trouble we've caused. I don't know why you came after me or why you're trying to hard to protect me, but you need to get whatever ideas you're having about me out of your head. You know you could have sent anyone to escort me, right? Why are you here?”

Dave says quietly, “I wanted to say goodbye.” Part of you wants to feel bad for him, to lay off, but you know that you need to be harsh right now. It'll make it easier for him to leave, and easier for you to see him go.

“Well, you sure fucking dragged it out, didn't you? Why don't you just go home, Dave? And...” Your hands go up to your ears. “And what the fuck is that awful noise?” An unnatural whirring noise had started sounding during your rant, and you're pretty sure Dave is the source.

He digs through his cloak and retrieves a hand mirror. The whirring grows louder and you swear you're going to smash that thing to bits if he doesn't make it stop. It doesn't seem to be bothering him, but he also doesn't have sensitive troll hearing.

“It's Rose.”

You're still reeling too much from the noise to decide if you had just heard him correctly. “What?”

Dave touches some runes on the handle in a precise sequence and the whirring noise fades. The glass begins to shimmer. “Hey, Rose, what's u--”

A face takes shape in the ripples of the glass, but the face does not belong to Dave's sister. “Hello, Dave.” His entire body grows tense, and you can feel your own stomach churning as you watch on in horror.

“Kanaya,” he breathes. “Uhh... you excited for the big day?” You mentally facepalm. Idiot.

Kanaya's voice is calm and crisp. “Please cut the bullshit, Strider. Rose told me everything.”

“Shit. I always knew she'd betray me.” His tone is a joking one, but you can tell he actually does feel a bit betrayed.

Kanaya continues as if she hadn't heard that. “We've met with your family and have agreed on your punishment.” He tries to keeps his expression flat, but his face is noticeably paler. “You have forfeited your claim on the throne and my hand. The next heir will be taking your place.” She's... smiling?

“The... next heir?”

“Rose and I will be married in three days. This gives her enough time to locate her missing brother. As for Karkat--” and she seems to be looking in your direction, even though you're pretty sure she can't actually see you. “He is now _your_ responsibility. We are going to forget about his past crimes, as you and I are no longer betrothed.”

Dave lights up, and you're in complete shock. “How the hell did you do all this?”

Her expression is warm and endearing now. “Rose rediscovered your birth records. Did you know that she is, in fact, the older sibling? By seven minutes, to be precise. So, technically, the throne should belong to her anyway.” Kanaya pauses to let you both absorb her words. “We would like it if you were both at the wedding, so come home, please.” And with a final smile, her image fades from the mirror. You're left in a long silence.

After a few moments, Dave places the mirror back inside his cloak and faces you, beaming. You're having trouble wrapping your head around what had just happened. You get to go _home._ And Dave doesn't have to get married. And that means...

You throw your arms around him, pulling him into a kiss. He leans down so that you don't have to stand on your toes to reach him.

It was going to be okay.

 

**Author's Note:**

> It's been 500 years since I've written anything, but I actually have an END in mind for this one! I can't believe I'm still Homestuck garbage.  
> (Thanks for reading!)


End file.
